A Good Day on the Set of Disney’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”
You may recall Judith Viorst’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day from your own childhood; or perhaps the tale has made its way into the nightly “read me a story” routine that is currently running on an infinite loop just this side of your child’s bedtime. Either way, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a classic book that we all love, and we love it because it is relatable.
Who among us has not had a day where everything that could go wrong does go wrong? We shake our fists at the sky, make desperate pleas into the night, and wish upon stars for mercy, understanding, and just one thing to go right. It happens to all of us, some more than others.
Alexander knows what I’m talking about.
Thankfully, those days are often countered by peaks of goodness and wonder which is how I found myself standing outside Pasadena’s famed Vroman’s Bookstore exchanging pleasantries with Dick Van Dyke and following him onto the set of Disney’s adaptation of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Some good days are better than others.
I was with a group of writers from this very Internet (I’m the guy with the beard and the hat), and together we watched Dick Van Dyke and Jennifer Garner (who totally remembered me from our Timothy Green interview, so I’ve got that going for me) film a scene in the bookstore before a crowd of extras, employees, and real-life shoppers.